By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — The Midtown Community Court is on the hunt for more than justice these days.
They're looking for a wall.
For months, staff have been searching for an outdoor space for the men in the court's fatherhood program to transform into a colorful mural with their kids and help from the Museum of Modern Art.
"We want to be able to demonstrate how the court has really influenced the neighborhood in so many positive ways," said Becca H. Chodos, director of workforce development at the court on West 54th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues.
Chodos' section of the court deals with quality-of-life crimes, such as shoplifting and graffiti tagging committed through the neighborhood.
But instead of sentencing low-level offenders to jail, the court takes an innovative approach, sentencing them to community service instead.
The court also offers a host of social services, including its "Dads United for Parenting" (D-UP!) which helps low-income, non-custodial fathers with criminal histories find jobs and build skills to better engage with their kids.
But while the dads enrolled in the program have been brainstorming ideas for their project, which has a lofty "restoring justice within the community" theme, staff have been searching for space to no avail.
They've reached out to local businesses and asked for help at local police precinct meetings, but they've come up empty-handed.
The group's needs are relatively simple. They'd like a wall that's at street level so dads, kids and other community members can paint without needed to climb up scaffolding, and would love to find something in Midtown, though they’re willing to look elsewhere.
They're also looking for a wide space, so many people can help.
"We want as much space as we can get," Chodos said. "The more the merrier."
While the design for the mural is still in the conceptual stages, Chodos said the dads have been meeting with artist Lauren Adelman, who will be completing the final drawing and then sketching in onto the wall using a paint-by-number system that will make painting easy for the group,
Chodos said that in addition to beautifying a derelict wall, the goal of the project is to help the dads and kids connect.
"I think that they’ll feel that they're really contributing members of the community," Chodos said of the fathers.
As for the kids? "I think that they're going to see their dads as these really positive role models," she said.
If you think you might have a space for the Community Court, you can contact Chodos here.
